Make a Turtle Costume

Come out of your creative shell and assemble a simple but superb turtle costume. Let me tell you how.

You will need to gather a few easy to find supplies. You will need an appropriately sized green pull-over hoodie, one yard of matching green felt, one yard of yellow felt, an oval aluminum disposable roasting pan, one can of brown spray paint, one can of spray foam insulation, a half a yard of one inch cotton or nylon strapping, a stick or dowel rod that is longer than the width of the pan, and yellow acrylic paint.

The Back Shell

The roasting pan you have procured will be transformed into the turtle shell. To create this all important piece place the pan, bottom side down on a good work surface. Rest the stick or dowel vertically across one end of the pan. This will be the top of your shell. Now cut the strapping into two sections and then fold each section in half. Drape each section over the stick so that the ends hang down into the bottom of the pan spaced apart about six or so inches. These straps will eventually be sewn to the hoodie to attach the shell to the final costume.

With the straps in place, fill the inside of the pan with spray foam. Remember that the foam will expand so only fill the pan about halfway. Allow the foam to dry overnight. When dry, the straps should be firmly in place and the stick can be removed. You may need to trim excess foam that has expanded past the rim of the pan.

Now spray the bottom side of the pan with the brown paint. After it has dried, outline the “cells” of the pan by painting all the grooves with the yellow paint.

The Front Shell

Using your roasting pan as a pattern, trace two oval shapes from the yellow felt. Sew them together around the edges and then sew a few vertical lines across the middle. Attach both the front and back shells to the green hoodie using a needle and thread. Be sure to use strong stitches. You don’t want an inconvenient wardrobe malfunction.

Feet

The final accessories to the turtle ensemble are the feet (or if you are making a sea turtle we could call them flippers). On a piece of newspaper or tissue paper trace a turtle foot shaped pattern that is a couple of inches bigger than the costume wearer’s hand. Now cut four of these shapes from the green felt. Sew two together to create one foot to be worn on the hand like a mitten. Repeat with the two remaining pieces. These feet can be attached to the sleeves of the costume or they can remain removable.

To complete the outfit, the costume wearer can don a pair of matching green sweat pants. Now he/she is ready for that big race against the hare or maybe just a lively costume party.

Also, check out my Make a Lobster Costume tutorial.